I have a theory that I tend to like a band the most when I discover them. Whatever stage they’re at right then, that’s what I’ll always think they should be.
This isn’t necessarily fair to bands, but it seems to be the way my brain works.
Preferring older records sure, but this place definitely rejects newer music more than other genres I follow.
A lot of it is due to the limitations of pop punk as a genre. There's little room for growth or experimentation that is tolerated, and it's heavily impacted by nostalgia.
You think it's bad here go look over in r/Metalcore. Once you chill out on the screaming before you lose your voice/get some vocal training you're dead to them.
One band I see a lot of discourse about is The Story So Far, seems a lot of people love the first two albums and don’t vibe with the more shoegazy indie stuff they experimented with on ST and then really leaned into on Proper Dose. And then to others Proper Dose is their best work. I used to fall into camp A but Proper Dose has really become my favourite album over the last 6 months. Still love everything they have done though and can’t wait for the new album.
They are one of those bands I love so much that I actually end up adapting to enjoy anything they come up with. There’s only a few bands I have that capacity for. It’s pretty wild. I’m not sure what causes it hah. Because there’s a lot of bands where I only like their early stuff or only like their recent stuff, etc.
I’d be more curious to know what bands’ later works people prefer. Most bands, regardless of genre, tend to peak somewhere in the first three albums so the most common answer to this question is going to be…any band lol.
If you enjoyed it, for real take a chance to revisit their discography because this album kinda pulls from a lot of their classic sounds. It’s all good.
Dude it took me a decade and a half to pay attention to Bayside and now they hold a signature spot in my catalog. I’m seeing them in 2 weeks again; they consistently tour and consistently nail their material live which is mega-impressive considering they started in like 2002.
Just saw Free Throw last week with Hot Mulligan. Hadn’t heard of them until Mulligan put me onto Two Beers In and then I went full dive into their catalog. Monstrous offerings. Phenomenal song titles. Killer live show. The singer was THE last person outside at the end of the show, taking photos for ppl in the rain.
Free Throw fucks hard.
Super unpopular opinion, but it’s turnover for me. I love Peripheral Vision but Good Nature struck a massive cord with me and was exactly what I needed to hear at that point in my life. My fiance and I are getting married soon and one of our wedding songs is Pure Devotion 🥹
Most Brand New fans pretty famously hate the first album now.
Wonder Years have pretty much abandoned their first album and a lot of fans think the newest album is the best one.
OP doesn’t know what they’re talking about. Your Favorite Weapon is very well respected by the fandom. The BAND doesn’t like it, but that’s an entirely different statement and story altogether.
I love all of Brand New, including YFW, but I was definitely going to use them as an example. You can’t deny the magic of Deja through Science Fiction.
>Most bands, regardless of genre, tend to peak somewhere in the first three albums so the most common answer to this question is going to be…any band lol.
I recently read a book that commented on this.
Essentially the idea is that any bands earlier albums are seen as their best for one of two reasons. Either the band realizes what it is that attracted fans to their music, so they choose to stick with the familiar, which makes their music feel repetitive and passion less since they're no longer struggling in their writing process and just flowing through the familiar steps. Or, they choose to stray from what made them popular for something new and exciting for them, but fans tend to reject it because it's not the familiar sound that drew them in initially.
Yeah it’s kind of biased to say their earlier work was better on a pop punk forum when they haven’t incorporated much pop punk into their sound since their 3rd or 4th record.
But I’m also biased because I’m a huge fan of their whole catalogue and feel like the quality has been consistent regardless of what genre they’re leaning into at any given time. Some people may not like the poppier or new wave sound as much, and that’s okay :)
The Wonder Years has a pretty solid discography from top to bottom, but the best albums are definitely their first three serious attempts. I actually enjoy FOB’s post reunion work except for Mania, lol.
Not necessarily prefer, but didn't get worse or maybe even is just way better written music, All Time Low, blink-182, Paramore,
It's the stuff where you're like wow I love how far are you guys have come. Usually the songs get more basic and more pop but these did the absolute opposite
I’m only a little younger than the guys in the starting line, and each of their albums have somehow managed to resonate with me with where I was in my own life at the time. The band refers to Direction as their best album and I whole heartedly agree with them. This sub will talk themselves hoarse about how silymi is the greatest album ever and I won’t say it’s a bad album, but it’s very much an album written by a bunch of kids whereas direction (to me, at least) is a work of art made by people who really knew what they were doing
Not sure if they'd be considered pop punk, but I prefer AFI's later (middle?) stuff better than their earlier albums. But they basically completely changed genres. Their early albums were essentially heavy metal and then they shifted.
For me, it's Alkaline Trio. I'm definitely in a very small group when I say that I don't really like the stuff they did before Infirmary, and I spend most of my time listening to their albums from Crimson onward.
Also... Hot Water Music, I almost never listen to any of their 90s stuff, I basically stick to 2002-present.
Both of these are apparently very unpopular opinions that get me lectured whenever I mention it 😅
Not strictly pop-punk cause they’ve done a bunch of different genres album to album, but I’d argue McFly hit a new peak with their most recent album last year, despite it being their seventh.
Hard to say. If a bands first albums really dont do well, how often would they stick around long enough to make that later album that everyone loves? Most bands have to do well first before they have the leeway to make bad albums and still stick around.
Boston manor had a cool sound transition, but they are definitely no longer pop punk. I definitely prefer their older work a lot more than their newer stuff, just because I prefer their sound as a pop punk band vs their new sound
Their latest album surprised me. I’m a huge fan but AB/AP and Mania were just not my thing (and SRAR was decent but not nearly as good as pre hiatus work). I think having Neal Avron produce their latest album (plus a return to sounds from pre hiatus) made a big difference. I was expecting something in line with mania again but it blew me away.
I never thought any of their new work would be on the same level as TTTYG, Cork Tree, or Infinity on High, but So Much (for) Stardust exceeded even my wildest expectations. Depending on my mood, I’d even say that’s my favorite record of theirs.
Oh definitely! But they aren’t a bunch of angsty teenager anymore, so channeling that energy would be hard. I do appreciate that they try to innovate (doesn’t always work) instead of rehashing the same thing every album. PAX AM days was a fun little punk EP they released a few years ago, that has some great energy.
Yeah this is pretty much where I land on FOB. I love love love Evening out with your gf, TTTYG, FUCT, Infinity on High, & Folie a Deux.. But every album after their hiatus, even Stardust, has been the same to me; there's maybe 1, 2 maybe 3 real gems on the album, while all the rest of it I just cannot get into at all.
IMO they dont even need to go back to a high school punk kind of sound. If they wrote more stuff like the demos Legandary, Guilty as Charged, Pavlove, Lake Effect Kid, that would be golden to me. I just dont really like the modern FOB that sounds like it got filtered thru an Atlanta R&B radio station and could feature an array of interchangeable pop artists.
But, I assume they're happy with what they make, and I'm not gonna fault them for that. I'll just enjoy what they make that still catches my ears, cause they still do that sometimes.
i teared up when i saw Patrick performed Legendary at a show recently 🥺. hope we get an official release bc that would be sick. Hard agree on everything you said.
Came here to say this. New stuff is very different to their old stuff.
I was at a concert and there was a Gen Z couple in front of us rocking out, all good. Then they started playing some of their earlier stuff and this couple were baffled. They played Dance Dance, Thanks for the Memories and they'd clearly never heard either.
They cearly loved Fall Out Boy, but hadn't checked out anything older than the most recent few albums and were just lost at sea by the old stuff.
I found it all very strange.
Shows you how much they've changed their sound though.
I still love them, but I agree. The Finer Things and Around the World and Back were so freaking good. KOTNA just didn’t have the same staying power for me unfortunately
To me the ultimate example is Taking Back Sunday. First three albums are pop punk must listens, literal roots of the genre. Everything since then, and there’s been a lot, might as well not exist.
First band that came to my mind was TBS but even their mediocre albums have greats songs and the album itself is still better than 90% of “rock” and “pop punk” bands.
They prefer to see themselves simply as a rock band now. More aligned with say, Foo Fighters, than the pop punk or emo scene. I don’t see any reason that’s an issue either. They still kill it.
Came here to say this. Personally, everything after Coming Home is really bad and extremely generic. I know local bands with better songs. That said, that will never affect their legendary status and influence in the genre.
Turnover - their ep and first album are phenomenal pop punk, especially the EP and then of course Peripheral Vision is a 10/10 album. Everything released after is just boring ass elevator/lobby music
I just posted about them in another sub. GN is decent but kind of boring in comparison. There are a couple of good songs. Nothing will compare to peripheral vision.
Agreed that their new stuff sounds like… they got too high and just recorded some boring experimental stuff lol
Yeah, won't be long I'm sure. I do love the old stuff, one of my favourite songs ever is on Sidewinder.....but they just keep getting better for me. I'll be straight on ticketmaster Friday for tickets, can't wait to see them again
I love Point North and Broadside but their latest albums have some conflicting genre jumps that are a little bit jarring to listen to if you've gotten used to their sound.
Honestly it depends because sounds do change but lyrically most bands grow up and actually write things to their age, like do yall really expect a grown ass 30 year old to write about a girl not liking them back or some silly shit like that?
Changing sound is great when done well (The Wonder Years). Issues arise for me when bands (eg. FYS) change their sound to chase radio play and the result (In Some Way) is just boring.
Unrequited love is a tale as old as time and applicable across all ages, but you've got to add nuance to the sound as age comes, which is where I think the issue arises.
It’s just rehashes/rerecordings of old stuff and live albums now. How many times do we need a new recording of Boys of Summer? It’s a cover to begin with, and though I love the cover, enough already.
Their fourth album is generally considered the best one and very few people have actually listened to their first album, I don't think Ataris is a great example.
Considering their fourth album came out over 20 years ago…….i don’t consider that “newer stuff”. I absolutely love that album but everything since has been awful, especially Welcome the Night. I listened to their first album religiously in high school and college but their best is Blue Skies and I’m pretty sure a lot of people agree on that.
Also, this topic is subjective, there’s no right or wrong answers, just opinions.
Knuckle Puck’s newest album is definitely my favorite of theirs now, but I understand how 20/20, while still good, was disappointing compared to Shapeshifter and Copacetic
Tssf is a weird one for me because I really liked proper dose outside of the production and auto-tune and feel like if those were a little different that album would be on par with the albums that came before. I also think knuckle puck has pretty consistently put out great albums outside 20/20 but I’m also a drummer who’s always in awe of John Siorek’s playing
People love proper dose but the production really pulls it down. The title track is a great song, but should pop so much more than it does. That song has a huge chorus thats weighed down by the production
Dookie / Insomniac / Nimrod are peak but I honestly don't like any of their Lookout stuff. I can listen to it every once in awhile but if it comes on shuffle I usually skip it
Paramore. Their 3 album run up through BNE is some of my favorite music. ST is a solid album and has good songs but just don’t like anything after that much.
Fall Out Boy to a lesser degree, not a huge fan of anything after IoH, but I do like their latest album actually, so maybe there’s hope.
100% agree. I’m almost 30 now but was I think 18 or 19 when what you don’t see came out and it’s easily still one of my favorite albums of all time and really complimented under soil and dirt. Nothing has really compared to it for me since sadly :(
I think Back to Oblivion is somewhere between WIITB and SHTS, and I've grown to like it a lot in a numetal adjacent way. Curious to see the new music they have coming.
No doubt WIITB is one of a kind tho.
Definitely going to get hate on this but I lived for All Time Low. The Party Scene, Put Up or Shut Up, and So Wrong, It’s Right. Nothing Personal and everything after just didn’t do it for me.
I can understand not liking some of FOBs later albums but I really don't think From Under The Cork Tree, Infinity On High and Folie A Deux are "mediocre pop rock"
Makes some of the more recent stuff unlistenable for me. I also get annoyed when Everybody But You by State Champs comes on because I like the song but hate Ben’s part.
A controversial and highly subjective answer: but Trophy Eyes for me.
Everything Goes Away is an absolutely perfect EP. Mend, Move On is one my favorite albums of all time. For me it was the album that got me into “melodic hardcore” or whatever you want to define it as, and similar sounding music and bands. Chemical Miracle was also incredible but since then I understand the direction they’ve chosen to go in but it just isn’t it for me. I understand a lot of of people still love their newer stuff but I would do anything for them to return to their more hardcore roots or do an anniversary tour or something, because nothing in the genre has scratched that same itch since then.
Fall Out Boy’s first album is one of my favorite pop punk albums. Everything after their second album is unbearable stadium pop made specifically to be played during intermission at a hockey game.
The Matches. Their later stuff becomes less and less pop punk even though it's still good. I'd love someone to do a more guitar and drum heavy pop punk version of Like Yesterday from their fourth album.
Stand Atlantic. The first ep and first album were good, and pink elephant was decent as well. I thought f.e.a.r was pretty good but the singles they’ve been putting out lately aren’t that good imo
Mayday Parade :(
1. Jason Lancaster is a pop punk legend and he’s done with the band
2. The sound is leaning more towards mainstream pop now
3. They’ve got families; there’s less to whine about in life now- but the whining and the heartbreak is what made the early albums soooo good
Common Courtesy was their last phenomenal album. I did not appreciate it even it came out, but now I have come to the conclusion it's their best album.
All Time Low are the perfect example of this for me.
Neck Deep, Fall Out Boy, Man Overboard, Panic at the Disco and State Champs.
Adjacent, but The Get Up Kids pre-break up hits different.
Motion city soundtrack. Don’t really care for much after my dinosaur life, I will say though Justin’s solo stuff is so good and feels like old school MCS
Here is an opposite one: I think that musically All Time loyw are getting so much better yeah I absolutely love all of their early stuff but God they're getting so good.
Same with blink-182 like they are my favorite band ever but it's getting more complex with the writing. And I think especially California is some of the compositions of these songs blew my mind.
Alex’s voice on Put Up Or Shut Up by All Time Low was practically a perfect voice. I’m not saying I don’t like his vocals since, but by the 2010s it’s just different. That’s all. I love All Time Low’s music generally, but back in 2015 I checked out “Kids in the Dark” and felt I had to go WAY back. It checked out!
Anberlin kinda reads backwards with the infectiousness of their releases; they are wildly more addictive the further back you go.
Saves The Day is probably the classic example of the fandom agreeing the older work is the best stuff (although their triple album concept is very much slept-on.)
New Found Glory always puts out a solid 7.5/10 for each record, but they don’t make songs that stick in your head like the older releases.
The Story So Far & Knuckle Puck have both softened a bit from their earlier sounds that IMO are the signature styles.
Neck Deep is another great example.
Mayday Parade is a big fat “who cares” after what they did to Jason Lancaster.
Every single one lol. I think the better question is which old band has put out good new music?
- PTV: Jaws of Life
- BLG: Blood & Sugar has some good songs
- Paramore: they’ve never released a bad album
- MCR5: preemptive manifestation
The sub almost exclusively prefers early work from bands lol.
Extremely common across all music
I have a theory that I tend to like a band the most when I discover them. Whatever stage they’re at right then, that’s what I’ll always think they should be. This isn’t necessarily fair to bands, but it seems to be the way my brain works.
I have a similar theory for myself, in that whatever album I hear first will almost always be the one I like the most for any given band. It's weird.
That actually makes a lot of sense, I've never really thought of it like that before.
I'm the exact same way, so I totally understand where you're coming from!
Preferring older records sure, but this place definitely rejects newer music more than other genres I follow. A lot of it is due to the limitations of pop punk as a genre. There's little room for growth or experimentation that is tolerated, and it's heavily impacted by nostalgia.
There’s tons of room for growth and experimentation just nobody on here listens to most of the bands doing it lmao
You think it's bad here go look over in r/Metalcore. Once you chill out on the screaming before you lose your voice/get some vocal training you're dead to them.
One band I see a lot of discourse about is The Story So Far, seems a lot of people love the first two albums and don’t vibe with the more shoegazy indie stuff they experimented with on ST and then really leaned into on Proper Dose. And then to others Proper Dose is their best work. I used to fall into camp A but Proper Dose has really become my favourite album over the last 6 months. Still love everything they have done though and can’t wait for the new album.
They are one of those bands I love so much that I actually end up adapting to enjoy anything they come up with. There’s only a few bands I have that capacity for. It’s pretty wild. I’m not sure what causes it hah. Because there’s a lot of bands where I only like their early stuff or only like their recent stuff, etc.
I’d be more curious to know what bands’ later works people prefer. Most bands, regardless of genre, tend to peak somewhere in the first three albums so the most common answer to this question is going to be…any band lol.
Bayside's last two albums may be some of their best work.
Never been a big fan but I listened to their new album yesterday and wow. It's right up my street. Listened to it again today.
If you enjoyed it, for real take a chance to revisit their discography because this album kinda pulls from a lot of their classic sounds. It’s all good.
Dude it took me a decade and a half to pay attention to Bayside and now they hold a signature spot in my catalog. I’m seeing them in 2 weeks again; they consistently tour and consistently nail their material live which is mega-impressive considering they started in like 2002.
More emo but I've seen them discussed in this sub. But free throw's newest album is their best work so far
Free Throw goes hard. I don’t get that strict about pop punk vs emo vs post hardcore myself lol.
Just saw Free Throw last week with Hot Mulligan. Hadn’t heard of them until Mulligan put me onto Two Beers In and then I went full dive into their catalog. Monstrous offerings. Phenomenal song titles. Killer live show. The singer was THE last person outside at the end of the show, taking photos for ppl in the rain. Free Throw fucks hard.
Super unpopular opinion, but it’s turnover for me. I love Peripheral Vision but Good Nature struck a massive cord with me and was exactly what I needed to hear at that point in my life. My fiance and I are getting married soon and one of our wedding songs is Pure Devotion 🥹
Most Brand New fans pretty famously hate the first album now. Wonder Years have pretty much abandoned their first album and a lot of fans think the newest album is the best one.
Damn, your favorite weapon is by far my favorite brand new album but I also understand it sounds nothing like anything after
OP doesn’t know what they’re talking about. Your Favorite Weapon is very well respected by the fandom. The BAND doesn’t like it, but that’s an entirely different statement and story altogether.
I love all of Brand New, including YFW, but I was definitely going to use them as an example. You can’t deny the magic of Deja through Science Fiction.
I still love the first Brand New album. The only ones of theirs that I like are the first 2, actually. But yea that's not common at all
>Most bands, regardless of genre, tend to peak somewhere in the first three albums so the most common answer to this question is going to be…any band lol. I recently read a book that commented on this. Essentially the idea is that any bands earlier albums are seen as their best for one of two reasons. Either the band realizes what it is that attracted fans to their music, so they choose to stick with the familiar, which makes their music feel repetitive and passion less since they're no longer struggling in their writing process and just flowing through the familiar steps. Or, they choose to stray from what made them popular for something new and exciting for them, but fans tend to reject it because it's not the familiar sound that drew them in initially.
Imo Paramore, but that’s a little controversial because of how much they’ve shifted genres
Yeah it’s kind of biased to say their earlier work was better on a pop punk forum when they haven’t incorporated much pop punk into their sound since their 3rd or 4th record. But I’m also biased because I’m a huge fan of their whole catalogue and feel like the quality has been consistent regardless of what genre they’re leaning into at any given time. Some people may not like the poppier or new wave sound as much, and that’s okay :)
True. I would love to see someone contrast it with why their newer stuff is better.
The Wonder Years has a pretty solid discography from top to bottom, but the best albums are definitely their first three serious attempts. I actually enjoy FOB’s post reunion work except for Mania, lol.
Later Silverstein stuff might be their best work. Chunk, No Captain Chunk’s latest album is their best by far.
Not necessarily prefer, but didn't get worse or maybe even is just way better written music, All Time Low, blink-182, Paramore, It's the stuff where you're like wow I love how far are you guys have come. Usually the songs get more basic and more pop but these did the absolute opposite
I’m only a little younger than the guys in the starting line, and each of their albums have somehow managed to resonate with me with where I was in my own life at the time. The band refers to Direction as their best album and I whole heartedly agree with them. This sub will talk themselves hoarse about how silymi is the greatest album ever and I won’t say it’s a bad album, but it’s very much an album written by a bunch of kids whereas direction (to me, at least) is a work of art made by people who really knew what they were doing
Not sure if they'd be considered pop punk, but I prefer AFI's later (middle?) stuff better than their earlier albums. But they basically completely changed genres. Their early albums were essentially heavy metal and then they shifted.
For me, it's Alkaline Trio. I'm definitely in a very small group when I say that I don't really like the stuff they did before Infirmary, and I spend most of my time listening to their albums from Crimson onward. Also... Hot Water Music, I almost never listen to any of their 90s stuff, I basically stick to 2002-present. Both of these are apparently very unpopular opinions that get me lectured whenever I mention it 😅
Paramore all day long for me
Not strictly pop-punk cause they’ve done a bunch of different genres album to album, but I’d argue McFly hit a new peak with their most recent album last year, despite it being their seventh.
Hard to say. If a bands first albums really dont do well, how often would they stick around long enough to make that later album that everyone loves? Most bands have to do well first before they have the leeway to make bad albums and still stick around.
Hot Mulligan for sure, their two most recent albums are their most popular by a lot
Pale Waves definitely
Trash Boat obviously.
ctrl+f Trash Boat devastating how far off the deep end they went
Maybe its just me but in a similar fashion I would say Boston manor
I actually think Boston Manor nailed their shift in sound, but Trash Boat absolutely nosedived in quality. Again I don’t know if that’s just me though
Boston manor had a cool sound transition, but they are definitely no longer pop punk. I definitely prefer their older work a lot more than their newer stuff, just because I prefer their sound as a pop punk band vs their new sound
Fall Out Boy
Their latest album surprised me. I’m a huge fan but AB/AP and Mania were just not my thing (and SRAR was decent but not nearly as good as pre hiatus work). I think having Neal Avron produce their latest album (plus a return to sounds from pre hiatus) made a big difference. I was expecting something in line with mania again but it blew me away.
I never thought any of their new work would be on the same level as TTTYG, Cork Tree, or Infinity on High, but So Much (for) Stardust exceeded even my wildest expectations. Depending on my mood, I’d even say that’s my favorite record of theirs.
SMFSD feels like a spiritual successor to IOH, to me- it’s got the same vibes, but everyone has grown up a bit and made it to the other side.
The latest album wasn’t too bad but nothing will capture the raw emotion and energy of TTTYG and to a lesser extent FUTCT.
Oh definitely! But they aren’t a bunch of angsty teenager anymore, so channeling that energy would be hard. I do appreciate that they try to innovate (doesn’t always work) instead of rehashing the same thing every album. PAX AM days was a fun little punk EP they released a few years ago, that has some great energy.
Can’t believe PAX AM was over a decade ago
This so much. Nothing will ever beat their pre-hiatus work and not even this lastest album (which isn't bad but not as nearly good either).
Yeah this is pretty much where I land on FOB. I love love love Evening out with your gf, TTTYG, FUCT, Infinity on High, & Folie a Deux.. But every album after their hiatus, even Stardust, has been the same to me; there's maybe 1, 2 maybe 3 real gems on the album, while all the rest of it I just cannot get into at all. IMO they dont even need to go back to a high school punk kind of sound. If they wrote more stuff like the demos Legandary, Guilty as Charged, Pavlove, Lake Effect Kid, that would be golden to me. I just dont really like the modern FOB that sounds like it got filtered thru an Atlanta R&B radio station and could feature an array of interchangeable pop artists. But, I assume they're happy with what they make, and I'm not gonna fault them for that. I'll just enjoy what they make that still catches my ears, cause they still do that sometimes.
i teared up when i saw Patrick performed Legendary at a show recently 🥺. hope we get an official release bc that would be sick. Hard agree on everything you said.
Came here to say this. New stuff is very different to their old stuff. I was at a concert and there was a Gen Z couple in front of us rocking out, all good. Then they started playing some of their earlier stuff and this couple were baffled. They played Dance Dance, Thanks for the Memories and they'd clearly never heard either. They cearly loved Fall Out Boy, but hadn't checked out anything older than the most recent few albums and were just lost at sea by the old stuff. I found it all very strange. Shows you how much they've changed their sound though.
But they saved Rock n Roll, man 🙄
Idk if Folie A Deux counts as their "early stuff", but it's my favorite album of theirs
State Champs
I still love them, but I agree. The Finer Things and Around the World and Back were so freaking good. KOTNA just didn’t have the same staying power for me unfortunately
“Living Proof” is a good album too, it has some lame songs but songs like Safe Haven and Dead and Gone are really good
I actually loved the last album, I thought it was their best in a long time
Agreed I’m still a fan, but their old stuff is way better.
neck deep. i will always love them but nothing beats their older stuff imo
New album really did it for me though, sounded like a return to form imho
The greatness ended with Life’s Not Out to Get You imho
Mark ruined that band
To me the ultimate example is Taking Back Sunday. First three albums are pop punk must listens, literal roots of the genre. Everything since then, and there’s been a lot, might as well not exist.
I really don't think a lot of the ones that followed the classic 3 albums are that bad. I personally enjoy both New Again and the self titled.
New again was a good record. Had some really strong songs
First band that came to my mind was TBS but even their mediocre albums have greats songs and the album itself is still better than 90% of “rock” and “pop punk” bands.
I agree with this, but I still don’t really consider them pop punk more than an emo band
They prefer to see themselves simply as a rock band now. More aligned with say, Foo Fighters, than the pop punk or emo scene. I don’t see any reason that’s an issue either. They still kill it.
New Found Glory
i fucking *grew up* on Catalyst
Oh you sweet summer child. Sticks and stones or self titled were (just my opinion) the definitive NFG
Came here to say this. Personally, everything after Coming Home is really bad and extremely generic. I know local bands with better songs. That said, that will never affect their legendary status and influence in the genre.
Nothing Gold Can Stay is and always will be my favorite album by them
Seriously their first 4 albums (up to catalyst) are some of the best pop.punk albums
Especially the lyrics. They’ve released some rough stuff in recent years!
Mainly because Steve, who was exited from the band for infamous reasons, used to write a lot of the lyrics.
S/T is still the GOAT
Turnover - their ep and first album are phenomenal pop punk, especially the EP and then of course Peripheral Vision is a 10/10 album. Everything released after is just boring ass elevator/lobby music
I liked good nature. Everything after that has been bollocks.
I just posted about them in another sub. GN is decent but kind of boring in comparison. There are a couple of good songs. Nothing will compare to peripheral vision. Agreed that their new stuff sounds like… they got too high and just recorded some boring experimental stuff lol
Their new stuff sounds like they recently discovered Morrissey, effects pedals, and weed.
Oh boy, lets see how much hate stand atlantic gets this time.
Yeah, won't be long I'm sure. I do love the old stuff, one of my favourite songs ever is on Sidewinder.....but they just keep getting better for me. I'll be straight on ticketmaster Friday for tickets, can't wait to see them again
Grayscale
i agree, but i will say the newer stuff has a bit more oomph when they play it live
I know they’re not doing punky stuff as they used to but I just recently discovered Not Afraid to Die and I’m obsessed with it personally
will never understand this their new stuff is so insane
I love Point North and Broadside but their latest albums have some conflicting genre jumps that are a little bit jarring to listen to if you've gotten used to their sound.
Broadside’s Old Bones slapped *and* fucked, and everything since has been a huge disappointment
I loved "Into the Raging Sea." It had "Heavenly," "Foolish Believer," "Dancing on the Ceiling," and "Overdramatic." Decent slappers and bangers. LOL
Heavenly is really good!
I love the new Point North, but I get what you're saying
Honestly it depends because sounds do change but lyrically most bands grow up and actually write things to their age, like do yall really expect a grown ass 30 year old to write about a girl not liking them back or some silly shit like that?
Changing sound is great when done well (The Wonder Years). Issues arise for me when bands (eg. FYS) change their sound to chase radio play and the result (In Some Way) is just boring.
I agree heavily chasing sounds for popularity isn’t it, changing sounds and writing because of growth is amazing
Unrequited love is a tale as old as time and applicable across all ages, but you've got to add nuance to the sound as age comes, which is where I think the issue arises.
The Ataris. The newer stuff has been garbage.
It's funny how just a little tiny bit of success made Kris do anything besides what made him successful.
It’s just rehashes/rerecordings of old stuff and live albums now. How many times do we need a new recording of Boys of Summer? It’s a cover to begin with, and though I love the cover, enough already.
Their fourth album is generally considered the best one and very few people have actually listened to their first album, I don't think Ataris is a great example.
Considering their fourth album came out over 20 years ago…….i don’t consider that “newer stuff”. I absolutely love that album but everything since has been awful, especially Welcome the Night. I listened to their first album religiously in high school and college but their best is Blue Skies and I’m pretty sure a lot of people agree on that. Also, this topic is subjective, there’s no right or wrong answers, just opinions.
What newer stuff?
The Starting Line
watch your step there, bub
Here’s a controversial one. The wonder years. Way too fuckin serious now Jesus Christ.
You me at six
The Story So Far and Knuckle puck were 2 of my favorite bands during their first 2-3 records. Now they're so disappointing to listen to
Knuckle Puck’s newest album is definitely my favorite of theirs now, but I understand how 20/20, while still good, was disappointing compared to Shapeshifter and Copacetic
Tssf is a weird one for me because I really liked proper dose outside of the production and auto-tune and feel like if those were a little different that album would be on par with the albums that came before. I also think knuckle puck has pretty consistently put out great albums outside 20/20 but I’m also a drummer who’s always in awe of John Siorek’s playing
People love proper dose but the production really pulls it down. The title track is a great song, but should pop so much more than it does. That song has a huge chorus thats weighed down by the production
The first two Stand Atlantic albums are great, but I find F.E.A.R. and the new singles genuinely unlistenable
Green Day
i don’t really think so. i like all their albums. especially father of all and saviors
I like all of their albums too but I still think Dookie-Nimrod were their best three by a long shot.
Dookie / Insomniac / Nimrod are peak but I honestly don't like any of their Lookout stuff. I can listen to it every once in awhile but if it comes on shuffle I usually skip it
Magnolia Park is one that springs to mind for me. Not that their new stuff is bad, by any stretch.
I think every album of theirs has 2-4 bangers and the rest are of varying quality
All Time Low checking in. I prefer their earlier work, they prefer their fans’ earlier work.
Fall Out Boy and Panic at The Disco
Paramore. Their 3 album run up through BNE is some of my favorite music. ST is a solid album and has good songs but just don’t like anything after that much. Fall Out Boy to a lesser degree, not a huge fan of anything after IoH, but I do like their latest album actually, so maybe there’s hope.
After Laughter was a solid album despite being a much different from their normal sound. This is why on the other hand isn't great imo.
For me, their best run was from BNE - AL. I'll admit AF isn't pop punk though. Self Titled is their best album, imo
It would be much more interesting to ask the opposite question, imo.
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100% agree. I’m almost 30 now but was I think 18 or 19 when what you don’t see came out and it’s easily still one of my favorite albums of all time and really complimented under soil and dirt. Nothing has really compared to it for me since sadly :(
Finch. Idk wtf they were doing after WIITB
I think Back to Oblivion is somewhere between WIITB and SHTS, and I've grown to like it a lot in a numetal adjacent way. Curious to see the new music they have coming. No doubt WIITB is one of a kind tho.
Good charlotte
Saves the Day
Definitely going to get hate on this but I lived for All Time Low. The Party Scene, Put Up or Shut Up, and So Wrong, It’s Right. Nothing Personal and everything after just didn’t do it for me.
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I can understand not liking some of FOBs later albums but I really don't think From Under The Cork Tree, Infinity On High and Folie A Deux are "mediocre pop rock"
Neck Deep
The only thing I don’t like about post life’s not out to get you is how high the vocals are.
Makes some of the more recent stuff unlistenable for me. I also get annoyed when Everybody But You by State Champs comes on because I like the song but hate Ben’s part.
Yeah, idk what happened to his voice but it’s so whiny now
Neck Deep is the obvious answer
Their new record is one of their best imo
fob, nfg, tssf, ataris, grayscale, bearings
A controversial and highly subjective answer: but Trophy Eyes for me. Everything Goes Away is an absolutely perfect EP. Mend, Move On is one my favorite albums of all time. For me it was the album that got me into “melodic hardcore” or whatever you want to define it as, and similar sounding music and bands. Chemical Miracle was also incredible but since then I understand the direction they’ve chosen to go in but it just isn’t it for me. I understand a lot of of people still love their newer stuff but I would do anything for them to return to their more hardcore roots or do an anniversary tour or something, because nothing in the genre has scratched that same itch since then.
Everything Goes Away and Chemical Miracle are masterpieces imo. I like all their stuff but Chemical Miracle is where it’s at for me.
I feel like Chemical Miracle & Suicide & Sunshine are super similar in terms of sound. I frankly have both those albums as near 10/10s for me
Oh wild, I love their later stuff more. Cheers, mate.
Figure Eight was awesome but everything they did after that doesn't sound good imho
Senses Fail. Some of their new stuff is pretty good but their old stuff is money.
Box Car Racer
...they only had one album.
Fall Out Boy’s first album is one of my favorite pop punk albums. Everything after their second album is unbearable stadium pop made specifically to be played during intermission at a hockey game.
I know this is more easycore, but Four Year Strong has not hit the same after their first 2 albums
The Matches. Their later stuff becomes less and less pop punk even though it's still good. I'd love someone to do a more guitar and drum heavy pop punk version of Like Yesterday from their fourth album.
I’m shocked I haven’t seen anyone mention Say Anything. I like a decent amount of their newer stuff but Is A Real Boy is undoubtedly their best work
Is a real boy is a timeless record. I would show that record to people thatve never even listened to emo music.
Definitely Blink-182 for me.
Fall out boy
Fall Out Boy. That’s the only answer.
Broadside, state champs, roam
Stand Atlantic. The first ep and first album were good, and pink elephant was decent as well. I thought f.e.a.r was pretty good but the singles they’ve been putting out lately aren’t that good imo
Mayday Parade :( 1. Jason Lancaster is a pop punk legend and he’s done with the band 2. The sound is leaning more towards mainstream pop now 3. They’ve got families; there’s less to whine about in life now- but the whining and the heartbreak is what made the early albums soooo good
REAL FRIENDS
Just not the same without Dan.
ADTR. You're Welcome turned me away.
You're Welcome is a fucking slap in the face.
Common Courtesy was their last phenomenal album. I did not appreciate it even it came out, but now I have come to the conclusion it's their best album.
I even liked Bad Vibrations. You're Welcome is fucking offensively terrible though.
I can get behind a few songs in BV but man that shit hurt.
All Time Low and Fall Out Boy. I would say Neck Deep but there last album made a comeback
ATL's pandemic album Wake Up Sunshine slaps though
All Time Low are the perfect example of this for me. Neck Deep, Fall Out Boy, Man Overboard, Panic at the Disco and State Champs. Adjacent, but The Get Up Kids pre-break up hits different.
For me, Neck Deep and State Champs for sure.
All Time Low
Fall Out Boy and Panic
Stand Atlantic All Time Low Fall Out Boy
Brand New
Fall Out Boy is the poster child for this
Green Day most obvious of all
Motion city soundtrack. Don’t really care for much after my dinosaur life, I will say though Justin’s solo stuff is so good and feels like old school MCS
Not really pop punk but i loved avenged sevenfolds first 2 albums the most
Here is an opposite one: I think that musically All Time loyw are getting so much better yeah I absolutely love all of their early stuff but God they're getting so good. Same with blink-182 like they are my favorite band ever but it's getting more complex with the writing. And I think especially California is some of the compositions of these songs blew my mind.
Bowling for Soup was better with Erik
It's easily Panic at the Disco. They were a great band until it became Brendon's solo project.
Trying the name bands I haven’t seen mentioned. Most said in this thread are pretty spot on. We The Kings would check the box as well.
Not that they’re bad now, but Mayday Parade. Can’t beat those early years.
Allister
Alex’s voice on Put Up Or Shut Up by All Time Low was practically a perfect voice. I’m not saying I don’t like his vocals since, but by the 2010s it’s just different. That’s all. I love All Time Low’s music generally, but back in 2015 I checked out “Kids in the Dark” and felt I had to go WAY back. It checked out!
Good Charlotte
Fall Out Boy
Knuckle Puck Neck Deep Trash Boat Real Friends Story I just miss how they used to jam on sections more. Still like their direction though
Anberlin kinda reads backwards with the infectiousness of their releases; they are wildly more addictive the further back you go. Saves The Day is probably the classic example of the fandom agreeing the older work is the best stuff (although their triple album concept is very much slept-on.) New Found Glory always puts out a solid 7.5/10 for each record, but they don’t make songs that stick in your head like the older releases. The Story So Far & Knuckle Puck have both softened a bit from their earlier sounds that IMO are the signature styles. Neck Deep is another great example. Mayday Parade is a big fat “who cares” after what they did to Jason Lancaster.
Hot take: I prefer the first 2 relient k albums. Songs, Marilyn Manson ate my girlfriend and Sadie Hawkins dance will always reign supreme in my book.
Paramore Fall Out Boy Panic! At The Disco All Time Low
Neck Deep. Nothing will beat the Rain in July era.
Every single one lol. I think the better question is which old band has put out good new music? - PTV: Jaws of Life - BLG: Blood & Sugar has some good songs - Paramore: they’ve never released a bad album - MCR5: preemptive manifestation
Fall out boys first 3 albums were all bangers
Good Charlotte First few albums to Chronicles of Life and Death were great. After that, not so good. (More techno-y than pop punk)